The EFF, a civil liberties group keen to uphold digital rights, is acting in defence of MusicCity in the case. MusicCity’s opponents argue that the file swapping service presents a violation of their copyrights. The service provided by MusicCity is a peer-to-peer, or P2P, service providing users with the software to create their own network in order to swap files. In this way it provides a different and more hands-off service than Napster.
The EFF says that the film and music industry, in attempting to curb the use of MusicCity’s software, are being unreasonable in limiting the use of a valuable technology. “This case is about the freedom of technologists to innovate and the public’s right to communicate,” said one of the EFF’s senior lawyers. The EFF sees the attempt as a demonstration of the entertainment industry using its weight to smother an innovative technology with many uses.